This year, which began with a $1m (£550,000) fireworks display on New Year's Eve, will see many more celebrations in what is a hyperactive city. Get your bearings Las Vegas does not resemble any traditional city. What would pass for the city centre is around Main Street in the north of the conurbation. Almost all the hotels and casinos are located on the seven-mile Strip - officially Las Vegas Boulevard - that runs south from here towards McCarran airport. Most new arrivals take a shuttle for about $5 (£2.75) or a taxi for about $20 (£11) to one of the strip hotels, though if you are staying downtown the public bus, route 108, costs $2 (£1.10) a ride, including transfers to any other CAT city bus.It's worth investing $5 (£2.75) in a day pass for the local CAT buses.

These run frequently to and from Downtown up and down the Strip Alternatively, you could rely on the city's four monorails. Three are short and of limited use; the longest is between the MGM Grand and the Sahara, taking in the Convention Center, with a flat fare of $3 (£1.60). For maps and information call 08705 238832 or visit . Check in For top-of-the-range luxury, the Bellagio (001 702 693 7111; ) is in the middle of the action on the Strip Doubles are from $229 (£127). A good low-to-mid-range option is Circus Circus (001 877 224 7287; . Winter-rate doubles from $41.95/£23.30), on the edge of the void between the heart of the Strip and Downtown.

Off the Strip, the comfortable and well-located Somerset House Motel at 294 Convention Center Drive (001 702 735 4411; ) offers doubles from $44 (£25). For a cheap bed, aim for the USA Hostel Las Vegas at 1322 Fremont Street (001 702 385 1150; ), where a dorm bed costs from $15 (£8.30). The city has a good live music scene and there is plenty else for culture-vultures, including the Portland Art Museum (001 503 226 2811; ; closed Mondays; adults $10/£5.25). For more on the city, visit .AND THE GREAT OUTDOORS?For a good look at the mighty Cascade Range, take a scenic loop drive from Sisters through both the Santiam and McKenzie Passes: in addition to views of major Cascade peaks, you'll see pristine forest, waterfalls, lakes and lava fields. The city's most notable shop is the immense Powell's City of Books, but shoppers and people watchers should also wander the Saturday Market (held on Saturdays and Sundays, March to December). Oregon is also a good place to shop: unusually for a US state, it has no sales tax. The state capital is Salem (not to be confused with Salem, Massachusetts, notorious for witches).